Hurricane Irma status Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

Historic City News reporting at 5:00 p.m. from the St. Johns County Emergency Operations Center.  Irma is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph. A northwest motion is expected to begin tonight with a turn toward the north-northwest on Sunday. 

On the forecast track, the core of Irma will continue to move near the north coast of Cuba during the next few hours, and will reach the Florida Keys Sunday morning.  The hurricane is expected to move along or near the southwest coast of Florida Sunday afternoon.

Maximum sustained winds are near 125 mph with higher gusts.  Irma is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Irma is forecast to re-strengthen once it moves away from Cuba and remain a powerful hurricane as it approaches Florida.  Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 195 miles.

Readers are cautioned not to concentrate on any one model run or forecast at this point.  The EOC is activated to Level 1, which is a full activation.

Potential Local Impacts:

• Johns County is currently under a hurricane warning. Hurricane warnings indicate that hurricane conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher) are expected in the next 36 hours.
• Johns County is currently under a storm surge warning. A Storm Surge Warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, during the next 36 hours in the indicated locations.
• Conditions are expected to deteriorate as the Hurricane approaches the area.
• Enhanced threat of possible strong tornadoes
• Excessive rainfall is expected to produce flash flooding and major river flooding.
• 8 to 15 inches of rain with potentially higher amounts.
• Johns County is under a flood watch until 2000 on Monday, September 11.
• Possibly damaging oceanfront surf and wave action IF the worst of the conditions coincide with the time of high tide
• Storm surge up to 3-4 feet along the oceanfront, 1-3 feet along the intracoastal waterway, and 2-3 feet along the St. Johns River.
• Expect surf of 5 to 10 feet

Remember any deviation to the east increases the risk for our area.

Mandatory Evacuations of Evacuations Zones A and B, and Shelter Operations, began at 6:00 a.m. this morning, Saturday September 9, 2017.

Weather Conditons:

Tonight – Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 76. Breezy, with a northeast wind around 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Sunday – Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. High near 80. Very windy, with a northeast wind 20 to 26 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Sunday Night – Tropical storm conditions expected, with hurricane conditions possible. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Low around 73. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

• St. Johns County has issued a mandatory evacuation order for those residents living in Evacuation Zone A and Evacuation Zone B beginning at 0600 am, Saturday, September 9, 2017. Residents living in boats, RVs, and mobile homes are included in this evacuation order. To determine your Evacuation Zone go to http://www.gis.bocc.co.st-johns.fl.us/MYEZ/ and enter your address.
• St. Johns County law enforcement agencies have announced a curfew that will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. nightly beginning Sunday, September 10 for the City of St. Augustine Beach, the City of St. Augustine, and portions of St. Johns County lying east of the Intracoastal Waterway on the barrier islands. The curfew will remain in effect nightly until further notice. A curfew order mandates that anyone on the street may be required to produce identification to law enforcement officers to verify their address and purpose for being in the area in an effort to reduce incidents of potential looting and to protect those in areas which may not yet be deemed safe.
• Republic Services and Advanced Disposal have suspended all household waste and recycling collection services in St. Johns County for Monday, September 11 and Tuesday, September 12 in preparation for Hurricane Irma. In addition, yard debris collection services will be suspended Monday, September 11 through Friday, September 15.

The next Situation Report will be issued at 12:00 noon, on Sunday, September 10, 2017.